Shloka # 3:

एवमेतद्यथात्थ त्वमात्मानं परमेश्वर।
द्रष्टुमिच्छामि ते रूपमैश्वरं पुरुषोत्तम।।11.3।।

Supreme Lord! Highest Spirit! It is even as you have described yourself. Yet I would like to see this lordly form of Yours.

Continuing his teaching, Swamiji said, Chapter # 11 is dealing with Vishwa Rupa Ishwara Darshanam. We should have a clear understanding of this Ishwara darshanam. It talks of a very thrilling, electrifying experience for devotees. Shabari waited for years for a glimpse of Sri Rama and at last when gets it and the great thrill she enjoys has been described. Similarly Thyagaraja also sings about Shabari’s Darshanam of Rama. Similarly, Sri Krishna darshanam is also talked about. All darshanams are considered mystic ones.

Now, to have an experience, the object of experience must be available to me; also there must be an experiencer, who is prepared for the experience. Let us say I talk about Carnatic music; but unless the listener has some idea of Carnatic music he cannot enjoy my talk, as he is not prepared as a listener. Normally we focus on the object of experience and forget the experiencer. This is true of Ishwara Darshanam as well. Shabari got Sri Rama Darshana Ananda but it was not only due to Sri Rama but also because Shabari was prepared for the darshanam.

How to prove this? Swamiji says, the very same Rama was available to Ravana as well but nothing happened. Object was available but subject was not prepared; Ravana’s mind did not change even after darshanam.

So preparation on part of person is important else even god is helpless.

How about Kamsa? He too had Sri Krishna darshanam but he never changed one bit. Several Rakshasa’s even used the darshanam for negative purposes; Basmasura is one that comes to mind. So, for Ishwara darshanam I need a tremendous amount of preparation.

Vishwa Rupa Ishwara is Lord in form of Universe. If you know it’s meaning, you know he is right in front of you. God’s first name in Vishnu Sahasra Nama is Vishwam. He is already available in front of me. If we don’t get thrill of darshanam, it is because of non-preparedness of devotee. That preparedness is nothing but purity of mind, a mind without kama, krodha, moha, madha, lobha and matsarya. These are the obstructions to this darshanam. When the cataract of the obstacle of kama, krodha, ahamkara and mamakara impurities are removed, God need not come; I begin to appreciate the already available Vishvarupam.

Arjuna says, O lord, I understand you are jagat karnanm. I can understand intellectually that you are in all namas and rupas; but I don’t get its impact.

So, what is missing? A prepared mind is missing and it is also known as Divya Chakshu. It is like one person is interested in Carnatic music but another person is not. So he asks Sri Krishna to help him get darshanam.

“In shloka # 3, you describe Vishwa rupa but nothing happens to me. Where is the lacuna? I would like to see your Vishwa rupa”, says Arjuna.

Shloka # 4:

मन्यसे यदि तच्छक्यं मया द्रष्टुमिति प्रभो।
योगेश्वर ततो मे त्वं दर्शयाऽत्मानमव्ययम्।।11.4।।

So we have seen the object of perception is available, Vishva rupa and still if I do not see it, the defect must be only in the observer. There must be some problem with me; therefore I do not feel the divinity when I experience the world. And, therefore, O Sri Krishna, is it possible for me at all; to have that divinity or Vishva rupa darshanam, can you prepare me to have this darshanam?  Please help me!

Purity of mind cannot occur overnight. It requires a lot of Karma yoga and sadhana and the transformation is slow; and it is not a revolution. Is there any method I can get this purity of mind, O Yogeshwara! asks Arjuna.

Shloka # 5, 6, 7 and 8:

पश्य मे पार्थ रूपाणि शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः।
नानाविधानि दिव्यानि नानावर्णाकृतीनि च।।11.5।।

The Blessed Lord said O son of Prtha, behold My forms in (their) hundreds and in thousands, of different kinds, celestial, and of various colors and shapes.

पश्यादित्यान्वसून्रुद्रानश्िवनौ मरुतस्तथा।
बहून्यदृष्टपूर्वाणि पश्याऽश्चर्याणि भारत।।11.6।।

See the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Asvins and the Maruts. O scion of the Bharata dynasty, behold also the many wonders not seen before.

इहैकस्थं जगत्कृत्स्नं पश्याद्य सचराचरम्।
मम देहे गुडाकेश यच्चान्यद्द्रष्टुमिच्छसि।।11.7।।

See now, O Gudakesa (Arjuna), the entire Universe together with the moving and the non-moving, concentrated at the same place here in My body, as also whatever else you would like to see. 

न तु मां शक्यसे द्रष्टुमनेनैव स्वचक्षुषा।
दिव्यं ददामि ते चक्षुः पश्य मे योगमैश्वरम्।।11.8।।

But you are not able to see Me merely with this eye of yours. I grant you the supernatural eye; behold My divine Yoga.

Now, Sri Krishna answers:

Even though Vishva rupa is right in front of me, to get the impact of Vishva rupa darshanam, I should have prepared the mind, which I call, Divya chaksu or purification and purification is a very slow and gradual process. It involves a long religious life and it also involves following dharma or values of life. If devotion and values are not there, for such a mind, the benefit of Vishva rupa darshanam will not be available.

Here, Arjuna was lucky to have Sri Krishna in front of him. He requests a temporary purification of mind.

But the purification will only be temporary; it does not last like a dialysis. Similar temporary purification can even be obtained from a Mahatma.

Since this purification is artificial, its full benefit is not realized. So, later in Chapter # 11, when Arjuna gets the darshanam, he is not able to stand Vishwa rupa darshanam. He tells Sri Krishna, I don’t want this Vishwa rupa darshanam. Only a truly purified mind can absorb such a darshanam.

So, Sri Krishna accepts Arjuna’s request. Just as one needs a 3 D glass for some movies, Sri Krishna says, I will bless you with a Divya Chakshu so that you can see many of my forms, varied in nature; all divine; of different colors and shades. When you will see rupa in many colors it is not a particular form, rather it is all forms and colors of universe, as all are Ishwara varnanam.

Citing an example Swamiji says, form does not belong to the bangle; it belongs to gold. Thus, Sri Rudram describes Shiva in many colors. This rupam is available to all cowherds. They are all the colors of Vishwa rupa Shiva. The green hairs of Shiva are the green trees. My mind should see it as Vishwa rupa darshnam. Thus, we see same colors, but we need to see them with a different attitude; it is like seeing a laddu from Tirupati, it becomes divine; it is appreciated by the mind that has devotion.

Vishwa rupa has many heads. All heads of peoples are the head of god.

Verities of devatas, representing natural forces are described next. The eight Vasus with different forms are Agni, Prithvi, Antarikhsam, Intermediary lokas, Vayu, Aditya, Chandra, and Stars. May you see the eight Vasus in Vishwarupa.

Twelve Adityas are the sun gods’ different changing stages in the twelve months of the year. In each month he has different powers. May you see the Adityas as Vishwarupa.

Our ten sense organs and mind are called Rudra Devata. May you appreciate the Rudras.

Ashwini Kumaras are the ones presiding over Pranas. May you appreciate them as well.

Marut Devatas are different aspects of Vayu Devata. You have not noticed all of them as Vishwarupam.

And therefore rain is a wonder; earth is a wonder; Sun is a wonder; anything you take it, is a wonder,

it is the glory of the Lord. May your see that; temporarily drop your day-to-day business; temporarily keep your cell-phone somewhere. After its (cell phone’s) coming, there is no time for anything; so wherever you go drop it; and just watch the universe.

So in Me the Vishva rupa Ishvara; whose body is the very sky itself, see the entire universe.

When Yashoda asks Sri Krishna to open his mouth she saw all the 14 Lokas; and then she said, shut up. She was not prepared. Sri Krishna is blue as sky; it means vast blue sky is a form of Sri Krishna, with galaxies floating in it. The whole universe is contained in Me.

Last week or so, some student; I do not remember who that student is, gave a cutting; so I just read through it; it is a very interesting write up, I will read only the first paragraph alone. It describes the Universe.

It says, consider a puff of dust a meter in diameter. Consider every grain of dust is a galaxy with many stars. We live near an ordinary star and are member of an ordinary galaxy. Every night we are shown that the universe has a beginning but most of us simple regret, use or enjoy the dark without perceiving that; it brings knowledge; If you are willing to learn from darkness, he says; even though so many stars are there; between the stars there is a vast emptiness is there. Think what must be the size of the universe; which accommodates all these galaxies and stars. This universe, with vast emptiness and galaxies are accommodated in space; so what must be size of the space; and that space is the

size of the Lord; Meditate upon that, Try that.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Greetings All,

Continuing his teaching, Swamiji said, I said in last class in Vaithatya Prakaranam, Gaudapada establishes Mithyatvam of world. It is not directly mentioned but indirectly revealed through Prapancha Upashamanam. This method is called Shruti Pramananam or Shrutyartharthi pramanam; which means obtaining knowledge indirectly from scriptures.

What is reality can’t be negated. We can’t say world is not existing as we experience it everyday. That which is experienced, yet is not reality, is called Mithya. The English word closest to Mithya probably is unreal. Gaudapada establishes this mithyatavam from Prapancha Upashamanam.

Mithyatvam’s closest example is dream. It is experienced by all of us. In dream we see that it is very real, giving us pleasure and pain. Dream also has utility value when we are actually in a dream; despite all this we know dream is not real. So best example for mithya is swapna.

In first three shlokas of this chapter Gaudapada establishes swapna is mithya. That swapna is mithya is established through Yukti, Shruti and Anubhava pramanam’s and he does so systematically.

He uses Vyapti for generalization thus he says where there is smoke there is fire. The statement, “a mountain is on fire as it has smoke” is analyzed as shown below ,using Gaudapada’s logic:

1. Mountain is the paksha or locus about which I make an inference.
2. Mountain has fire; it is called sadhyam or conclusion.
3. Because there is smoke, the indicator, it is also known as Hetuhu or the reason.
4. Drishtantaha: means an example, as in a yagashala; because it is in a yagashala that you get Vyapti Gyanam or knowledge for inference.

This method of logic is now used to show Swapna is Mithya. Vyapti here means knowledge of co-existence of smoke and fire. Here Vyapti is a generalization. When we see an object in jagrat avastha as real, we observe that the object requires an area and volume (space) for existence, also known as Uchita Desha in Sanskrit. Not only volume of space, every object also needs duration (time) for its existence.

Einstein talked of four coordinates, the fourth one being time, indicated by date of origin and expiration. Every object requires a time.

Existence of events also requires duration of time. In Gita classes a question comes up. Swamiji, you teach the 700 verses of Gita in five years or 250 hours, describing the teaching in battlefield; how did Sri Krishna teach all 18 chapters in the duration of a battle? The basis for this question is because every event requires a specific duration of time and if specific duration of time is not convincing, you tend not to believe it.

Conversely if you find an object or event without enough space or time we conclude that object or event is not a real thing. Hence, some say Gita was an invention of Vyasa, as there is a time and space issue. They don’t accept the teaching as real due to a lack of time requirement.

When you see a reflection of an elephant in a mirror, mirror has flat surface and an elephant can’t stand on a flat mirror. You accept elephant in mirror as mithya or unreal reflection, knowing a real elephant can’t stand on the flat surface of a mirror; so the elephant reflection is an unreal one as there is not enough space for an elephant to exist on the mirror. Thus, when sufficient space is not there, that event is mithya.

Applying this logic Gaudapada says, dream world is also mithya as it lacks time and space for dream to exist as reality. Hence dream is unreal. This is the beginning of Vaithatya prakaranam.

Karika # 1:

वैतथ्यं सर्वभावानां स्वप्न आहुर् मनीषिणः ।
अन्तःस्थानात् तु भावानां संवृतत्वेन हेतुना ॥ १ ॥

The wise declare all objects of the dream as illusory, they all being located within the body and also because of their being in a confined space.

This shloka logically establishes swapna prapancha as mithya. First logic is lack of space; like elephant in a mirror. Dream objects and events are subjective things within our minds, not outside it; else others in the world would also see your dream.

Thus, swapna objects are subjective things in my mind. In dream we see elephants although it requires not an ordinary amount of space. We can’t accommodate an elephant, but we see elephant, moon, stars etc in dream space. So wise people say all objects in our dream are mithya. A special all pervading space is created within my head. Why is it unreal? It is because all objects reside within myself. What is wrong with it? The space within me, within my head is limited or insufficient for a real elephant, or a mountain etc., to exist. Now in next shloka he talks of events that also are mithya as they occur in insufficient space.

Shloka # 2:

अदीर्घत्वाच्च कालस्य गत्वा देशान्नपश्यति । 
प्रतिबुद्धश्च वै सर्वस्तस्मिन्देशे न विद्यते ॥ २ ॥

On account of the shortness of time, it is not possible for the dreamer to go and see the dream objects. Nor does the dreamer when he wakes up, indeed find himself in all the places seen in the dream.

Yukti pramanam: (by joining together)

In previous shloka “things” were proved as unreal in dream. In this shloka “events” are shown as unreal in dream. Consider a dream trip to Mansarovar. You have to reach an airport, then fly and then trek to mansarovar; but duration of a dream-time is only about 8 hours during your sleep time. Within the span of a dream, during our sleep, we manage to see events such as our marriage, children and even grand children. They say an actual dream only lasts only for about a minute and a half. So, all events are unreal as there is not sufficient time. So, he really does not go to mansarovar. They are all unreal projections of our mind.

Keep in mind that we are accepting it all as unreal in our waking state; in dream state we will not accept our dream as unreal. People pray before going to bed so that they don’t get bad dreams. Why this worry; because our dream experience is very real, during our dream. Vedanta says our waking state is also a mithya. Thus we get Yukti pramanam. Thus, mirror located elephant yukti pramanam is over.

Pratyaksha Pramanam:

(perception)

In second line of this shloka we get Pratyakhsa pramanam from our experiences. Suppose in dream we went to Kashi; we saw many cows there; and one cow pushes you and you wake up. If it was a real cow you should have woken up in Kashi, but reality is that you woke up in Chennai. From this it is clear we never went anywhere in dream. After waking from dream one does not experience that he is in dream place, hence dream places, dream travel, dream cows, are all, unreal. This is Prathyaksha Pramana.

Shloka # 3:

Shruti and shastra pramanam.

(convincing illustrations on the subject matter which is beyond senses/common cognition)

अभावश्च रथादीनां श्रूयते न्यायपूर्वकम् । 
वैतथ्यं तेन वै प्राप्तं स्वप्न आहुः प्रकाशितम् ॥ ३ ॥

Strictly conforming to reason and logic, Sruti also declares non-existence of the chariots and so on, perceived in his dream by the dreamer. Moreover, it is said by the seers that Sruti herself declares the illusory nature of dream experiences, and establishes the same through logic and reason.

Shruti Pramanam:

In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Ch 4., section 3, the waking, dream and sleep states are discussed. In swapna there is nothing. Everything is a mental projection. There are no vehicles, no roads, etc; we manage to project them in our mind. They are mithya even though we experience them. “ Experience does not prove reality” is the lesson of Upanishad. Gaudapada shakes us even further with his declaration that, “ Whatever you experience is not real. There is only one reality, the “ Subject” alone is real.”

This is knowledge of shruti. Therefore unreality is established logically and it is also asserted in Upanishad. The fact is swapna prapancha is mithya.

Shloka # 4:

अन्तःस्थानात्तु भेदानां तस्माज्जागरिते स्मृतम् ।
यथा तत्र तथा स्वप्ने संवृतत्वेन भिद्यते ॥ ४ ॥

Different objects cognized in dream are illusory because they are being perceived to exist. For the same reason the objects seen in the waking state are also to be considered as illusory. Just as in the waking state, so also in the dream, the nature of objects remains the same. The only difference is the limitation of space in case of dream objects, they being seen in the within.

With first three shlokas first topic that swpana Prapancha is mithya, is over. From shlokas 4 through 18, Gaudapada is going to give us a shocking revelation. Our normal thinking is that this world is real while dream world is unreal; this is your assumption, says Gaudapada. He says, even the  Jagrat prapancha is unreal. This has to be very carefully understood and assimilated or it can cause confusion.

When we say dream is unreal, we say this after waking up, as a “Waker”. So it is a Waker’s point of view. However, in dream, from dreamer’s point of view, dream is very real; as whatever happens in dream affects the dreamer. When a dog bites the dreamer, he will feel it and go to a dream doctor and take dream medicine and even pay in dream money. So, one has to think from an appropriate point of view.

Citing an example, a man drank too much at a pub and started seeing double. He asked owner how much he drank. Although he drank only one bottle, pub owner with an intention to cheat said you drank two bottles; and since he was seeing doubles anyway, he said you have to pay for two bottles at Rs 100 each. The drunk took out a hundred-rupee note and said it was Rs 200 for the two bottles; he was still seeing doubles.

Similarly, for dream body, dream world is very real. So also from waker’s point of view this world is very real. Once you wake up, the dream world is now mithya. Similarly, once you shift to Turiyam standpoint, jagrat avastha is also mithya. Thus, Swapna prapancha is real for swapna shariram while Jagrat prapancha is real for sthula shariram. Both are in fact “unreal” in respective jagrat and Turiyam states.

Therefore wise people declare world is Mithya in jagrat avastha, as well. So jagrat prapancha is exactly like dream world. Is there any difference between two states? Between mithya jagrat prapancha and mithya swapna prapancha, Jagrat prapancha is outside of body while swapna prapancha is inside body. The common factor between both states is Mithyatvam.

I accept Swapna prapancha as mithya as it does not have time and space. But Jagrat prapancha has enough time and space; if so why is it Mithya?

Take Away:

“ Experience does not prove reality” is the lesson of Upanishad. Gaudapada shakes us even further with his declaration that, “ Whatever you experience is not real. There is only one reality, the “ Subject” alone is real.”

Once you wake up from dream, the dream world is now mithya. Similarly, once you shift to Turiyam standpoint, jagrat avastha is also mithya.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Continuing his teaching, Swamiji said, having completed chapter 10 known as Vibhuti Yoga, now we are entering Chapter 11 known as Vishwarupa darshana yoga. The word yoga attached to each chapter refers to the episode or the topic. So vishvarupa darshana yoga means the episode, which deals with vishvarupa darshanam.  It means Vision of God as Vishwa rupa. What is Vishwa rupa? Rupa means form and Vishwa means world, or Lord whose form is the very universe itself. Then the question comes up, how to get such a vishwa rupa darshanam? When a devotee wants to see God such as Rama, Krishna or Devi, scriptures tell us how to get that darshanam. Scriptures prescribe tapas or meditation or concentration. The devotee decides which form he wants to see. Then he concentrates on that form as per dhyana shloka. He has to learn the dhyana shloka to be able to concentrate on that form.

He has to visualize that particular form and generally a mantra is also taught, just as narada taught mantra to Dhruva, Prahlada etc. and the devotee has to do the Purascharanam of that mantra; Purascharanam means you find out how many letters are there in that mantra; say if there are six letters, you multiply it with as many lakhs; say if it is Gayathri mantra with 24 letters then japa is performed either for 24 lakhs times or 24 crore times. So you do dhyanam; you do Purascharanam, as described in the scriptures; and if a person follows this kind of tapas, the shastras prescribe that the devotee will have the darshanam of the Lord in that particular form.

This is not our mental projection, but the Lord himself through his maya Shakti gives darshanam, in a particular form, to the Devotee. And this exercise is called Devatha sakshatkarah.

Thus devotees such as Tyagaraja and Meera have had darshanam of Rama, Krishna, respectively. Now the question is if he wants to have a vision of God as the world itself, how to do it?

Do we have to invite god to come in form of Vishwa rupa; if so, we have not understood the meaning of Vishwa rupa darshanam. Vishwa rupa means I want to see God as world, but I can’t invite him in this form as he is already in this form. What then should I do to obtain darshanam in the form of the world?

There is only one answer. I have to learn to see the world in the form of god. I should learn that this very world is Ishwara, and then Ishwara alone is giving darshanam to me in the form of the world. There is no other method.

Japa mantras are for Rama, Krishna darshanam, not for Vishwa rupa darshanam. If so, how do I train myself? Here again there is only one method; I must assimilate the teaching that God is material cause of the universe and that he alone manifests as the universe. Here, every vision in front of me is a different version of God. I should clearly understand this teaching and with this my perspective changes. This new perspective is called Divya Chakshu or the mystical eye.

Citing an example, some one gives you a laddu and then tells you it is from Tirupati temple; then immediately your perspective changes; you now, consider the laddu a prasadam and you first apply it to your eyes before eating it. The status of prasadam is not physically evident; it comes from understanding that the laddu is from Tirupati. This prasada is adrishtam or divination of laddu through a change in perspective.

This is the idea communicated by Sri Krishna here. He teaches us as to how to look at world as divine; then I will see that god is giving darshanam all the time, to us.

Sri Krishna says it is better to have God’s darshanam 24 hours rather than one, which comes and goes (Aya Ram Gaya Ram). This nithya ishwara sambandha is Vishwa rupa darshanam obtained by a change in perspective through the teaching.

So Vishwa Rupa darshanam is not like Rama, Krishna darshanam. Here you see God everywhere as described in Chapter 11.

Shloka # 1:

अर्जुन उवाच
मदनुग्रहाय परमं गुह्यमध्यात्मसंज्ञितम्।
यत्त्वयोक्तं वचस्तेन मोहोऽयं विगतो मम।।11.1।।

By the words You have spoken, supreme, occult and spiritual, in order to bless me, this delusion of mine has gone.

Here Arjuna addresses Sri Krishna. In the first eight verses, we get an introduction to the topic of Vishva rupa Darshanam and it begins with the Arjuna’s summarization and what he has learned in the previous 10 chapters

In two shlokas he summarizes his learning so far. In shloka # 1 he summarizes chapters 2 through 6 that he says is essence of Jiva rupa varnananam or essential nature of Jiva. Physical body is only a temporary dress, which will be shed at death. Similarly mind is also a temporary instrument that I use in waking and dream states but shed in sleep.

Therefore neither body, am I; nor am I the mind; but I am of the nature of chaitanyam; the consciousness principle. And do you remember the description of consciousness I have given. Consciousness is not a part, product or property of the body; consciousness is an independent entity which pervades and enlivens the body, consciousness is not limited by the boundaries of the body; and consciousness survives even after the fall of the body; that eternal all-pervading consciousness is my nature. Sri Krishna gave a brilliant description of this essential nature of Consciousness, in the 2nd chapter from the 12th shloka, up to shloka No.25.Then he talked about that in the 3rd chapter, in the 4th chapter and in the 5th chapter.

Thus, in Chapter 2, shlokas 12-25, Consciousness is the focus. In Chapters 3, 4, 5, nature of Jiva is presented. Arjuna says I have understood all that very well.

Teaching given by you, purely for blessing me, is for saving me from sorrow (Arjuna Vishada Yoga). They are most sacred words that reveal atma, the reality. They are greatest secret not easily available in the world, from a rare Gyani. The words are spiritual teachings. Through this teaching my delusion is gone.

So you should remember the context of the Gita teaching; Arjuna surrendered to Lord Krishna due to his confusion. On one side, my mind says killing my kith, kin and Guru is not OK, but on the other side I can kill for protection of dharma. Now my doubts are getting cleared regarding confusion as to what is right and wrong. It is confusion about ethics and philosophy. Gita deals with ethical and philosophical confusion.

Normally the veda purva bhaga is meant to resolve

ethical conflict; veda antha bhaga is meant to resolve philosophical confusion. Gita is a unique Shastra, which deals with ethical conflict; as well as philosophical confusion. And therefore Arjuna says; I am getting clearer and clearer.

Shloka # 2:

भवाप्ययौ हि भूतानां श्रुतौ विस्तरशो मया।
त्वत्तः कमलपत्राक्ष माहात्म्यमपि चाव्ययम्।।11.2।।

About the birth and dissolution of beings I have heard from You at length, O Lotus eyed one! As also about your immense grandeur.

Arjunas reverence for Sri Krishna as a teacher is increasing. The word Kamalapatra in shloka means God with Lotus Eyes or eyes like lotus petal that describes God’s inner beauty. This was dealt with in Ishwara swarupa chapters 7-10. Chapter 8 is an odd man out. You defined God as jagat karanam. You defined God as material cause of universe. Out of god alone universe comes, rests and resolves; that is Srishti, Sthiti and Laya Karanam. Everything comes from you alone. If waves are born from ocean and resolve in ocean, then there is no separate wave from ocean.

All the things and beings; this whole creation of things and beings is from you alone, as the very adhara, as the very ashraya. That means what? If waves are born out of the ocean and resolves into the ocean, it means there are no waves separate from the ocean; in fact wave is only an additional name given to the very ocean itself; similarly the whole creation is like a wave in the ocean of God. Shankaracharya beautiful presents in atma Bodha that the entire cosmos of several billions of galaxies is nothing but bubbles; so each galaxy can be compared to a small bubble and all these bubbles of galaxies are rising from you; and there are no bubbles separate from ocean. Similarly there is no creation separate from God or to put in another language; God is in the form of world, I heard this very clearly, and how did you teach, very elaborately. The upanishadic teachers are not detailed; rather they give the srishti and all within a few mantras.

The teaching is also for a madhyamadhikari such as me. In chapter 10 you also revealed your glories, Vibhutis, spread all over the universe. These glories are in exhaustible, the Vishwa rupa mahima. Mahatyam and Vibhuti mean the same. The proof is that my delusion is almost gone. It finally goes away completely in chapter 18.

If delusion is gone what is Arjuna’s next question?

Shloka # 3:

एवमेतद्यथात्थ त्वमात्मानं परमेश्वर।
द्रष्टुमिच्छामि ते रूपमैश्वरं पुरुषोत्तम।।11.3।।

Supreme Lord! Highest Spirit! It is even as You have described Yourself. Yet I would like to see this lordly form of Yours.

In every shloka Arjuna adds some more glories of God.

Parameshwara: means supreme Lord who sustains physical law of creation. It is also name of Shiva.

Purshottama: means supreme Lord. It is also name of Vishnu. It’s philosophical significance is taught in chapter 15 on topic of Nirguna Brahman.

So Vyasa talks of Vishnu and Shiva as equals. So, O Krishna! whatever you are teaching me is perfectly understandable because it is a systematic teaching; if Bhagavan is the cause, and world is effect; the logical consequence that the effect cannot be separate from the cause; therefore the world cannot be separate from God. It is a very logical conclusion; and if the world is non-separate from God; all the non-glories of the world should naturally belong to the Lord; because of that, I have no resistance in accepting that teaching.

Arjuna says, I am able to intellectually understand that whole world is manifestation of God and that everything is holy. So there is no question of dividing world into acceptable and unacceptable. If I could see world as divine then I will not have Dvesha towards anything. However, the reality is that I have Raga and Dvesha. My intellectual and emotional personalities are not harmonized. I need them to be harmonized. What should I do to get it? I would like to have Vishwa rupa darshanam, while I am interacting with the world.

Dayananda swami beautifully says; we do not have a sacred-secular division in our culture. In many other cultures, sacred is obtained in a temple while everything outside the temple is secular. However, for a Hindu or for a vaidhika, there is nothing called secular, everything is sacred; eating is puja; remember we are doing puja daily; eating is puja, brushing the teeth is puja; snanam is puja, everything that I do is puja and this puja occurs only when I always remember that I am in the presence of the Lord as Vishwa rupa. How can I have contact with that rupam; the vishvarupa Ishvara, you should help me. This is Arjuna’s request, the details of which we will see in the next class.

Take away:

The mode of repetition of a Mantra with feeling and in a particular manner, a definite number of times, with right observances, until a fixed number of Japa is reached, in order to obtain substantial benefit out of the Mantra, is called Purascharana.

Vishwa rupa darshanam:

I have to learn to see the world in the form of god. I must assimilate the teaching that God is material cause of the universe and that he alone manifests as the universe as well or we can say God is both matter and spirit. Here, every vision in front of me is a different version of God. I should clearly understand this teaching and with this my perspective changes. This new perspective is called Divya Chakshu or the mystical eye.

With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

http://www.advaidam.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/om.mp3

Swami Paramarthananda gave a special talk on February 13, 2018 for Shivarathri.  The topic of the message was two types of bakthi.  Please listen to Swamiji’s message at this link:

2018 Shivarathri Message

Shishavalli of Taitreya Upanishad enumerates the following vedic upasanas:

• Samhitha Upasana
• Vyahirithi Upasana
• Hiranya Garbha Upasana
• Panktha Brahma Upasana

Please click on the link below for a chart reproduced from Swami Paramarthananda’s book with minor additions based on Swamiji’s classes.

Upasanas in Sikshavallie

Homa sadhana (Fire rituals) students ask for fourfold prayer

1. Dhana prapthi; asking for propsperity primarily meant for dharma for completing karma yoga
2. Chitha sudhi prabthi; purifying the mind; this is described as deivi sampth in Baghawat Geeta.
3. Gyana prapthi
4. Sishya prapthi; share the knowledge by sharing with the next generation;

Money should lead to purity; purity should lead to knowledge; and knowledge should lead to teaching.

Fourth Anuravaga (Continued)

May students come to me.  May students come to me with varied interests.  May students come to me with intelligence.  May students come to me with sense control.  May students come to me with mind control.  May I be well known as a teacher among the people.  May I be the greatest among the wealthy.  Oh Lord!  May I merge into you.  Oh Lord! Mat you merge into me.  Oh Lord!  Mat students come to me from all directions.  May students come to me just as waters rush downwards and just as the months rush towards the next year.  Oh Lord!  You are like a rest house. Reveal yourself until me and enter into me

In this verse, the seeker is praying for shishya prapthi so that he can share his knowledge.

Brahma means vedas and chari is the one who has a disciplined life; one who is not concerned about sthula sareeram but strives for vedic knowledge;  Brhamachari primary meaning is a dedicated student, not necessarily a bachelor.

The seeker is parying for students with varied interests.  There are three types of students:

1. Mandha students:Stem of like plantain stem – one who is difficult to light up,
2. Madhyama student – like coal, can be lit after an extended time
3. Uthama student – like camphor; easy to light up.

Bha – light of knowledge; ratha – revel;  Bharatham is reveling in the light of knowledge.  The seeker is praying for students with sense control and mind control.  The seeker is praying for wealth so that he can provide for the students who come to him for education.  The one who spends for Saraswathy (Knowledge) should not owrry about Lakshmi (Money).

The seeker is praying for jivatma paramatma aikyam, similar to the river merging into ocean.  Not only the river merges into ocean, ocean also merges with the river. This is why the river water before the point of merger is salty.

Each manifestation of god is like a branch of Eeswara similar to the tributaries of a great river.  By dipping in any tributary of the river, we purify our body; similarly, by worshiping any of the form of the lord, you are purifying your mind.  Physical purity is obtained by dipping into river; mental purity is obtained by remembering the Lord.  This is nothing but worshiping the Lord.

The prayer is concluded asking for students:

• Just as  the water gushes through the slope, students should come to me
• Just like each month is rusing towards next year, students should come to me from all directions.

By comparing Lord to a rest house, the seeker says when we are frustrated with our pursuit of gyna, Bakthi and devotion will help us overcome the frustration.  Surrendering to the Lord is the solution when one is over whelmed by frustration.

There is no physical movement in jivatma paramatma aikyam, because Bhagavan is not away from me.  Merger into Bhagawan means dropping the notion that Bhagawan is away from me and with the clear knowing “Aham Brahma Asmi”

Greetings All,

Chapter 1,Shikshavalli.

Paragraph # 2:

Continuing his teaching of the Upanishad, Swami Paramarthananda said, the chapter # 1, Shikshavalli, is Sadhana Pradhana. We started the teaching with Shiksha shastram that provides the rules for mantra chanting. Shankaracharya pointed out that the method of chanting is very important in Vedas. He says, initially the student learns or Veda Adhyayanam. At this time one learns only the chanting not necessarily the meaning of the shlokas. This stage is Shabda Pradhanam and must be learnt properly. Veda Adhyayanam is also used for Veda Parayanam or Brahma Yagyam. This parayanam helps with Chitta Shuddhi. The Vedas must be chanted properly to obtain the Adrishta balam. This adrishta balam takes a person on the path to spiritual growth. The Veda Adhyayanam, where students learn proper chanting, but may not yet know meaning of the shlokas, will be used to understand it’s meaning now in a process known as Veda Mimamsa. Veda Mimamsa is Vedic enquiry. It is divided into two parts called Poorva mimasa and Uttara mimasa. Poorva mimasa is also known as Karma Kanda and its study results in Adrishta balam. Uttara mimasa also called Veda-anta is same as Gyana Kanda and it results in Drishta balam. For this enquiry one has to learn the Vedic mantras. Through an analysis of the Vedic mantras one obtains Karma Gyanam and later Brahma Gyanam.

Gyanam is Drishta Phalam. Punyam is Adrishta Phalam or Karma phalam.

The rules for proper chanting have six factors and we discussed this in the last class. In this manner the science of pronunciation has been presented.

In Paragraph # 2, or Anvaka # 2, Veda Parayanam or Brahma yoga is discussed. Gayathri parayanam is considered equivalent to chanting the Vedas. Ramayana parayanam or any other scriptural parayanam are all part of Brahma Yagna.

Paragraph or Anuvakaha # 3: In introduction we said that Shikshavalli talks of different disciplines of Pancha Maha Yagna, Proper Values (moral, ethical), Verbal Sadhanas, (parayanam, Japam) and five types of Upasanas or meditation. These meditations are not Vedantic meditations while Nidhidhysanam is a vedantic meditation.  The five upasanas are:

1. Sagumhito Upasana: These upasanas are difficult and some say more difficult than Vedanta itself. Nowadays, they are mostly of academic interest only. Today, puranic upsanas such as praying to deities is more common. The study of upsanas itself is considered very sacred and results in great punyam.

This anuvaka begins with a prayer that says, “ May my Guru and myself become popular in society. May I have an attractive personality, born out of spiritual life or as the shloka calls it Brahma Varchas”. Why is student asking for such a boon? Especially when we are studying Vedanta it does not seem to make sense. Swamiji clarified every Vedantic student wants to receive knowledge and share it with others. They were concerned about future generations. All Vedantic students, especially Brahmin students had to teach. A Kshatriya or Vaishya did not have to teach others. In Vedic times a Brahmin could not take up any other profession. His only profession was to spread the teachings of the Vedas. In studying the Vedas you become indebted to the Rishi’s who brought this knowledge to you. So, I have to express my gratitude to the Rishi Parampara. This is called Rishi Rinum. One way to remove the Rinum (debt) is to share your knowledge or support an organization that supports teachings of the Vedas.

For above reasons you should be a popular Guru is the prayer.

The Sagamhitaya is derived from Sagumshita. Here M followed by sh, sa or Ha becomes Gum.

So, what is the Upasana? Any upsana requires two things. 1. An Object of the Upasana. This can be a deity such as Shiva, Vishnu etc. This then is the Upasana Vishayaha. Since most objects are too big and invisible, hence often we need a symbol to conceptualize the object. Citing an example, when we worship our country we end up worshipping a flag that represents the country. The country is too big and diverse physically to conceptualize, while the flag is easy to see. This worship of flag or a symbol is called Alambanam. While a Vishaya may not be concrete, an alambanam usually is. Thus, Vinayaka is worshipped in the turmeric powder, a book represents Sarswathi and the cow represents Laxmi.

So, what is the Sagumhitaya? It is a Vedic combination of letters; it is an alambanam. It is also called a sandhi. The shloka says:

Sagumhithayaha Upanishdam. Here the visarga drops out. For this upasana four factors are considered. Swamiji discussed these four factors through an example. The first mantra of Yajur Veda is: Ishe Tva. E (Ay) and T are thus joined. In this the E is the swaraha and is called Purva rupa and T is called Uttara rupa. Thus, Poorva and Uttara join together and their junction is called Sandhi. Through this joining a new letter comes in and it called Sandhanam. Thus, when E + T join another T comes in. Thus, the four factors are: Purva, Uttara, Sandhi and Samshanam. Hence, it is called Samshito Upsana, On these four symbols, four Vishayaha, one for each symbol, is invoked.

To further clarify this idea, Swamiji cited following example. Consider the four factors are like four chairs. Four people (Upsana Vishaya) are honored to sit on each chair.

The four Vishayas are associated with a particular field such as say sports, music etc. In the first Upasana a puja is performed to all four people, say from sports field and then they are asked to vacate the chair.

In second Upasana another four people, say from field of music, are asked to sit and puja is performed.

In this manner five rounds of pujas or Samhito Upasanas are performed. In total 20 objects are worshipped in five different fields. Each field is called Adhikaranam. From each field four objects are invoked.

Why should Upanishad prescribe such a difficult Upasana, asks Shankarachrya? Why not keep it simple like worship of a cow? Answering his own question, Shankaracahrya says, in those days people studied Vedas for 8 to 12 years. There were a variety of chanting’s one learned. A lot of time was spent in learning Vedic chanting. Thus, we have chanting methods of Vakya patha, Pada patha, Krama Patha, Jatha Patha, and Ghana Patha. Here the combination of how the words are chanted, vary.  Sandhi plays an important role in chanting. Every student was thorough with each “Letter” of Vedas. Experts in this field were called Salakshna Ghanapady. Vedic students were experts in words and they came to this Upasana with this knowledge. So, they were naturally inclined in its direction.

The five fields chosen are:

1. Adhilokam: Various Lokas
2. AdhiJyautisham: Luminaries such as the Sun, moon, stars etc.
3. Adi Vidhyam: Educational or learning
4. Adi Prajam: Progeny or family
5. Adhyatma or Shariram; our own bodies and its parts.

Each selected one is meditated upon. Thus, there are twenty meditations. We invoke 20 objects. Hence, they are called alambanams. What are these twenty objects?With Best Wishes,

Ram Ramaswamy

Foot note:

Chanting methods:

Pada Patha: “Gajaananam Bootha Ganaathi Sevitham”

Krama Patha: “Gajaananam Bootha, Bootha Ganaathi, Ganaathi Sevitham”

Jata Patha: “Gajaananam Bootha Bootha Gajaananam Gajaananam Bootha;

Bootha Ganaathi Ganaathi Bootha Bootha Ganaathi;

Ganaathi Sevitham Sevitham Ganaathi Ganaathi Sevitham”

Ghana patha: “Gajaananam Bootha Bootha Gajaananam Gajaananam Bootha Ganaathi Ganaathi Bootha Gajaananam Gajaananam Bootha Ganaathi;

Bootha Ganaathi Ganaathi Bootha Bootha Ganaathi Sevitham Sevitham Ganaathi Bootha Bootha Ganaathi Sevitham;”

Use this PDF document to follow swamiji’s classes on Upadesa Saram.  MaharshiUpadesaSaram

This is the recording of the special talk given by Swamiji for the Sivatri festival in 2016.

2016 Sivaratri Talk